Minotaur
May, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-312-54026-5
Hardcover, 352 pp., $24.95
David Trevellyan has been employed by the British Government for fifteen years, the reader never quite sure in what capacity – his exact job description is a bit murky He describes himself as a “consultant,” in the business of “telecommunications,” among other things. He tells the reader “What you see depends on what you look for. You can enjoy the positives, or seek out the negatives. It’s your choice.” The same might be said for Even, the first book by Andrew Grant.
There is a lot of action and suspense tinged with an underlying sense of menace. As the book opens, Trevellyan is in New York City, with his mind on his trip back to England scheduled for the following morning, when he almost literally stumbles upon what appears to be the dead body of a homeless person. He feels compelled to try to give assistance if the man is not actually deceased, when he immediately realizes he has been set up as a police car pulls up, and he is brought to the police station on suspicion of murder. Although he is certain that the British Government will extricate him from this situation, he quickly becomes aware that nothing of the kind will happen, and he is completely on his own, with no idea as to who is on his side and who is not. Then a whole nuther investigation crops up, and a different crime or crimes: “a spate of homicides involving elderly and vagrant victims,” and the natural question arises as to whether they are related to this latest death.
Some of the motivational scenarios seemed a bit implausible to me, and I had a problem with the credibility of the story lines themselves. The author starts most chapters with flashback scenes, little vignettes which allow some insight into his personality and/or background, and added to this reader’s enjoyment of the book. Comparisons have been made by some reviewers between David Trevellyan and another well-known protagonist. Admittedly, they are both well over six feet tall, British, and Commanders in the Royal Navy. And there is a lot of derring-do and self-assured action on the part of each. But David Trevellyan is another character entirely, and I think that at this juncture it remains to be seen whether he can become as iconic as the man called “Bond, James Bond.” The book ends with what I would describe as a precipice, as opposed to a cliffhanger, and I sincerely hope Mr. Grant [the brother of author Lee Child] has a follow-up novel in the works so we can find out what he has in mind for the next chapter in the story.
